Markets continued to trade on a flat note in the past one hour of trade. The Sensex was at 18,460, higher by 48 points and the Nifty had gained 8 points at 5535.
Meanwhile, the European markets have opened higher. The FTSE has opened at 8747, up 0.44% or 25 points, DAX has advanced 0.46% to open at 7140 and the CAC 40 index jumped 1.2% to open at 3842.
Back home, the broader markets continued to outperform the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index advanced 0.65% or 44 points to 6770 and the small-cap index gained 0.6% or 45 points to 8030. Jubilant Lifesciences, Punj Lloyd, Godrej Properties, Deccan Chronicle Holdings, Aventis Pharma and Sterling International Enterprises were the top gainers among the mid-cap stocks. Among the smal-caps Shree Ashtvinayaka Cine Vision rallied 13% to Rs 6. It was followed by Ceat, Prraneta Industries, C Mahendra Exports, ITI, JK Tyre, JMC projects and NDTV.
On the sectoral front BSE Realty index recovered from the low levels but the momentum was short lived and soon slipped back into the negative territory. The index was down0.3% at 1982. Meanwhile, the BSE FMCG index was the top sectoral loser, the index had shed 0.5% or 19 points at 3846. Oil & Gas, IT and PSU indices also witnessed a mild selling pressure. On the other Consumer Durables stocks which were reeling under the selling pressure recovered from the low levels and the index was up 0.9% at 6526. Capital Goods, Metal, Healthcare, Auto, Power and Bankex indices were also trading higher by 0.3-0.6% each.
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(Updated at 12.35 PM)
After recovering from the intra-day low levels on back of renewed buying in metal, healthcare and capital goods stocks, markets remained flat in the noon deals. The Sensex was at 18,447, higher by 35 points and the S&P CNX Nifty was marginally higher, up 2 points at 5528.
According to Ranak Merchant, Technical Analyst with Sushil Financial Services, "Today's pause in trade can be termed as a natural phenomena as indices are now trading near their respective 200 Day EMA."
Most of the Asian markets were also trading on a flat note. Taiwan was down 21 points at 8478, Hang Seng advanced 9 points to 22,050 and the Shanghai Composite was up 2 points at 2760.
Back home, Hindalco Industries emerged as the top gainer on the Sensex, up nearly 3% to Rs 179. Bajaj Auto advanced nearly 2% to Rs 1407. Sterlite Industries, BHEL, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication, Larsen & Toubro and ICICI bank were also among the gainers. On the other hand J P Associates, DLF, Wipro, ITC, Reliance Industries, Infosys, TCS, NTPC and Hero Honda languished in trade so far.
On the sectoral front BSE Capital Goods index emerged as the top gainer, up 0.7% or 96 points at 13,688. Healthcare index added 36 points at 6340. Power, Auto and Bankex indices were trading on a flat note. Meanwhile Oil & Gas stocks reeled under the selling pressure. the BSE Oil & Gas index shed 0.7% or 63 points at 9106 levels. Realty index was down 0.65% at 1975. technology, FMCG, PSU and consumer durable stocks were also under a mild selling pressure.
Punj Lloyd, Alstom Projects, Crompton Greaves, BHEL, Bharat Electricals and BEML were the gainers among the capital goods stocks.
The broader markets outperformed the benchmark in trades today. The BSE mid and small-cap indices gained 0.5% each.
The overall breadth was neutral as 1293 stocks were advancing while 1255 stocks were declining.
